The row over slots for Summer 2027 has reached the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Maharashtra government, with carriers saying the move breaks slot rules and could invite a response from their home countries.

A dispute between Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) and a group of foreign airlines, mostly from the Gulf, has intensified over the operator’s plan to shift flights on 14 international routes to the new Navi Mumbai airport. Carriers including Qatar Airways want the historical slots they have held at Mumbai’s main airport, and reports say some have warned of diplomatic escalation if the slots are not restored. The Civil Aviation Ministry is still weighing the objections.

What MIAL Has Proposed

MIAL, which is operated by the Adani Group, plans to redevelop the 60-year-old Terminal 1 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. According to reports, this requires reducing the airport’s annual passenger capacity by about five million. To make room, the operator proposes moving flights between Mumbai and 14 international destinations to Navi Mumbai International Airport from the Summer 2027 schedule, which begins in late March 2027.

In a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry dated October 30, MIAL sought approval for the temporary transition of certain international airlines’ historical slots out of Mumbai. It said that it could shift all flights on the 14 routes if airlines did not propose voluntary transfers by November 3. Its first proposal was larger, cutting Terminal 2’s capacity by about a third and pausing 265 of its 770 weekly international flights. The ministry then asked all parties to agree on a transition plan. Reports say that out of 50 foreign airlines at Mumbai, 38 were allotted Summer 2027 slots at Terminal 2.

MIAL has defended the plan as a temporary step linked to redevelopment. Beyond that letter, I could not find a detailed public statement from the company.

Who Is Objecting

The airlines’ body in Mumbai, the Airline Operators Committee, wrote to the ministry asking whether it had approved the proposal. Reports say 11 to 12 foreign carriers are affected, including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Air Arabia, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Riyadh Air, Flyadeal, Saudia, Jazeera Airways, SalamAir and Flynas. Their objections are:

• Slot rules: They say the move conflicts with the ministry’s 2013 slot allocation guidelines and the global principle of “historical slots”, the flight timings an airline has operated in earlier seasons.
• No consultation: Their letter says that MIAL’s slot coordination team declined the historical slots of some Gulf carriers, apparently without discussing it with them.
• Passenger impact: Reports say the carriers fear longer travel times for passengers and a loss of connecting traffic if they move to the second airport.
• Escalation: They have reportedly warned that, if the slots are not restored, they would take the matter to aviation regulators and ministries in their home countries, raising the risk of reciprocal restrictions on Indian airlines flying to the Gulf.

Gulf Air and Saudia have also questioned whether MIAL can withdraw established slots because of its redevelopment plans. One report says Hajj flights could be affected. These warnings are the airlines’ own position, as reported, and no government has been reported to have taken formal action.

Indian Carriers Are Moving, Others Are Not

Indian airlines have taken a different approach. Reports say that IndiGo, Air India Express and Akasa Air have agreed to gradually shift some West Asian routes to Navi Mumbai. The plan was reshuffled after Indian carriers asked not to be singled out, so that both Indian and foreign carriers on the affected routes could be split between the two airports.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Steps In

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has opposed moving international flights out of Mumbai. He wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu with an alternative sequence: build the new Terminal 1B first, shift operations from Terminal 1A into it, and then demolish Terminal 1A, so that existing international services can continue without disruption. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also urged the ministry to adopt a phased redevelopment approach to avoid a big drop in capacity during construction.

Two Airports, One Operator

The row has an unusual feature. Both Mumbai’s main airport and the Navi Mumbai airport are run by the Adani Group, which opened the second airport to commercial operations on December 25, 2025. MIAL holds 74 per cent of the Navi Mumbai airport company and the state agency CIDCO holds 26 per cent. The first phase of the new airport has a single terminal with a capacity of 20 million passengers a year.

Because the same group runs both, an earlier report noted that it is in a strong position in talks with airlines over which flights move to the new airport. MIAL’s position is that the move is needed to redevelop the old terminal. The airlines’ position is that the plan favours the operator’s second airport at their cost. Neither claim has been tested by a regulatory decision.

What Happens Next

The ministry has not publicly announced a decision. The key developments to watch are whether it approves, modifies or rejects the proposal, whether Fadnavis’s phased plan is taken up, and how the airlines respond if their slots are not restored. The Summer 2027 schedule starts in late March, so airlines will need clarity on slots well before then.

 

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